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Pennsylvania could become the next state to ban live, in-game sports betting after a new government study identified it as a key driver of problem gambling.
The Pennsylvania General Assembly’s Joint State Government Commission released the report July 13, following a resolution lawmakers adopted last year directing the commission to study how sports betting and interactive gambling affect state residents.
Beyond ending in-game wagering, the commission’s top responsible gambling recommendations include:
- Banning credit card funding for gambling accounts
- Requiring bettors to set self-imposed limits
- Restricting advertising aimed at underage audiences or that uses misleading language such as “risk-free”
- Limiting VIP loyalty programs
Report links online betting boom to addiction spike
The growth of sports betting and online casinos in Pennsylvania has coincided with rising credit card debt, domestic violence and harassment of Pennsylvania athletes, the report found. It cites mental health experts who describe the gambling industry’s expansion as an “urgent and escalating public health challenge.”
That assessment tracks with reporting from The Philadelphia Inquirer, which found that calls and texts to Pennsylvania’s 1-800-GAMBLER helpline tied to online gambling rose 180% between 2021 and 2024. In 2019, online gambling accounted for roughly one in 10 calls to the helpline; by 2024, it was about every other call.
The Pennsylvania Psychiatric Society and the Pennsylvania Society of Addiction Medicine estimate more than one in four Pennsylvanians are at risk of developing a gambling disorder.
PA gambling profits soar as more residents show risk
Pennsylvania’s gambling industry generated more than $7.7 billion in profit last year. A Penn State University study published earlier this year found that between 60% and 73% of Pennsylvania adults gambled in some form in 2025, with sports betting the most popular form of online wagering for a fifth straight year. Between 2.5% and 6.4% of state residents may be problem gamblers, according to that research.
Online betting now accounts for nearly half of all gambling revenue in the state, the Inquirer reported. Pennsylvanians wagered $8.3 billion on online sports betting alone during the 2024-25 fiscal year, and combined sportsbook and iGaming revenue topped $2.9 billion.
Philadelphia has also become the nation’s top market for online gambling advertising, outpacing New York City and Las Vegas, with companies spending more than $37 million there on ads between January and September 2025.
Commission weighs revenue against consumer harm
The report acknowledges the tension between the tax revenue gambling generates and the toll it takes on residents, noting that legalized online gambling and sports betting can meaningfully benefit state budgets, according to Legal Sports Report.
One recommendation calls for gambling companies to share anonymized bettor data with a state agency, which would let regulators flag at-risk gamblers without cutting into industry revenue.
Colorado’s responsible gambling rules could be a model
Pennsylvania wouldn’t be the first state to impose tighter guardrails. Colorado lawmakers this year banned credit card funding for betting accounts, capped daily deposits and barred advertising aimed at audiences under 21. Pennsylvania legislators introduced similar bills modeled on Colorado’s approach earlier this year, though none have advanced.
Meanwhile, self-exclusion enrollment in Pennsylvania is already outpacing last year’s total: 8,315 residents had opted out of legal gambling platforms so far this year, compared with 7,489 through the same period last year, the Inquirer reported.
Any changes recommended in the new report would need approval from the Pennsylvania Legislature before taking effect.
